Union of Orthodox Clergy and Monks of Greece: Crete Council not a real Council

Agionoros.ru has published the main provisions of an
open letter signed by the well-known Greek pastors,
monastics, and theologians.

The authoritative Greek public organization “Union
of Orthodox Clergy and Monks,” has commented on the
results of the Crete Council. Agionoros.ru
has published the main provisions of an open letter signed
by the well-known Greek pastors, monastics, and
theologians.

In the letter is noted in particular that the Holy and
Great Council which took place on Crete in reality was
“neither a council, nor great, nor holy.” It
“is not a continuation of the Orthodox Councils, but
presents itself as a deviation from the longstanding
conciliar practices and as an unprecedented canonical
innovation.”

“The Council was not holy, because some of the
documents approved by it contradict the decisions of the
Holy Apostles and Holy Fathers made in the Holy Spirit,
especially in relation to heretics. The Holy Spirit cannot
contradict Himself: they condemned heresies and
anathematized heretics at the truly holy Councils, but at
the Crete “Council” they confessed them as
churches… The Crete Council does not fight against
heresies, but accords them the status of
ecclesiality.”

According to the members of the Union of Orthodox Clergy
and Monks, the Council was small and not great, as not all
Orthodox bishops took part in it, which means “the
fullness of the Church was not represented.” The
Crete Council practically turned into a “small
meeting of primates.”

The refusal of four Local Churches to participate
diminishes the scale of the Council. Thus, the Council
forfeited “its pan-Orthodox character,” and
moreover “the authority of its decisions was
diminished.”

The Union of Orthodox Clergy and Monks have criticized the
primate of the Greek Church, Archbishop Ieronymos, who
broke their obligations, not defending until the end the
amendments proposed by the Holy Synod of the Greek Church
(in particular, the proposal to replace “Christian
Churches” with “Christian communities”
in the text “Relations of the Orthodox Church with
the Rest of the Christian World”).

“The Union of Orthodox Clergy and Monks”
applauds the bishops who refused to place their signature
on some of the Council documents: “They are the
disciples of the confessors and Holy Fathers and are the
hope for revising the decisions of the Crete Council in
the future.”

Amongst those who signed the open letter are Elder
Evstratios of the Great Lavra on Mt. Athos, the igumens of
several Greek monasteries, and the well-known theologians
Fr. George Metallinos, Fr. Theodore Zisis, and Dr.
Demetrios Tselengides.